Police complete anti-terrorism course

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Roland Routh
Windhoek-Thirty-nine safety and security officers from the Namibian Police Force (Nampol), the Namibian Correctional Services, and the Namibian Intelligence Service completed a two-week training course in counter-terrorism and analysis held at the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College in Windhoek last Friday.
Thirty-five of the participants came from various units of the police while two each were from correctional services and intelligence services, as part of the training facilitated by Italy’s Carabinieri.
Speaking at the closing ceremony the Honorary Consulate General of Italy to Namibia, Rosanna Reboldi-Bleks complimented the participants for a job well done as the course instructor, Colonel Stefano Dragani, informed her that he was immensely pleased with their performances, input and progress. According to Reboldi-Bleks, the participants stood out above the other units Dragani trained before.
She further said the results were so encouraging that she is confident that Rome and the top ranks of the Carabinieri will positively consider intensifying the cooperation between the two police forces.
She also announced that the Namibian Police Force would take part in a joint special forces training exercise with the Rwandan Police in Kigali, Rwanda, next month and in June and October 2018 courses on Environmental Crime Investigation will follow in Namibia.
Reboldi-Bleks further said more courses would be offered in 2019 and beyond, all financed and conducted by the Italian Carabinieri. This capacity-building and knowledge transfer is essential for maintaining peace and stability in Namibia, its neighbouring countries and sub-Saharan Africa overall, Reboldi-Bleks added. She noted that Namibia is a target for rhino poachers and the smuggling of protected animals while its airports and borders are becoming transit routes for drugs and the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade.
Speaking at the same event, Major-General Desederius Shilunga from Nampol expressed his profound gratitude to Dragani, who he described as a dear friend to Namibia.
According to Shilunga, it was Dragani who first suggested the cooperation between Nampol and the Carabinieri and accelerated the implementation of the agreement between the two police forces.
He said the objectives of the interaction between Nampol and the Carabinieri is to, inter alia, provide an overview of the history of terrorism in Africa, distinguish between the different types of terrorism, provide an understanding of the strategic and tactical objectives of terrorism, enable participants to identify terrorist tactics and targets, provide the knowledge of the strategic role of the analyst in the era of globalisation and provide the knowledge of the strategic role of the open source intelligence in the era of globalisation.
Shilunga further said the participants have broadened their knowledge and skills in counter-terrorism and analysis and they are all aware that terrorism is a global threat which poses a threat to any nations security as it does not have borders and can manifest itself at any time and in any part of the world. “The fast track of the terrorist threat necessitates coordinated efforts, counter strategies and multi-disciplinary actions of international and national role players,” stated Shilunga.
He urged them to use their newly acquired knowledge to the best of their abilities to the benefit of the Namibian nation. “What you have acquired during the past two weeks should now serve as a massive weapon in our quest to perfect our capabilities in the identification of different types of potential terrorists attacks and putting strategies in place to counter such attacks,” Shilunga concluded. New Era Reporter 2018-03-06 08:42:53 10 months ago